Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

A techno-economic analysis of biomass gasifiers integrated with high and intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

none8siIn this paper the ECLIPSE process simulation package is used to model and make a techno-economic analysis of a range of systems that combine biomass gasification with SOFC stacks. Two forms of the SOFC are considered: the intermediate temperature (IT) solid oxide fuel cell and the standard high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell. The biomass gasification technology, which was selected for integration with the SOFC stacks, was the air-blown downdraught gasifier, because of its simplicity and relative cheapness. Willow and miscanthus were taken as the biomass fuels for the power plants. In addition, the sensitivity of the COE to variations in the fuel cost, the fuel cell cost, the fuel cell lifetime, and the waste heat selling price were examined and compared. From the ECLIPSE simulations, the efficiencies of both the HT and IT 250kWe systems were found to be around 39% when willow was used as fuel and around 38% with miscanthus, the difference being due to moisture content, rather than any intrinsic property of the biomass. Similarly, for the 25-kWe systems, the efficiencies were found to be around 35 and 34% respectively. These values are higher than for any other biomass-fired electricity generation technologies of similar scale. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.McIlveen-Wright, D.R.; Moglie, M.; Rezvani, S.; Huang, Y.; Anderson, M.; Redpath, D.; Dave, A.; Hewitt, N.J.McIlveen Wright, D. R.; Moglie, Matteo; Rezvani, S.; Huang, Y.; Anderson, M.; Redpath, D.; Dave, A.; Hewitt, N. J